From the USA, All Roads Lead to ATHENS — with a short stop in Rome via ITA Airways
Greek Column flew Italy's ITA Airways from San Francisco to Athens: Here's what you need to know.
Are you one of the millions of Americans who don’t live in New York and are looking for the best way to get to Greece this summer? We thought so. As it turns out, although Greece is one of the most popular destinations in the world, there are surprisingly few flights from the United States to Athens.
If you live in New York, or don’t mind flying into New York, you can sometimes find a non-stop flight to Athens, but even then it’s seasonal with most of those flights operating mainly over the summer months. But, in news that will come as a shock to many, Greece is actually a country 365 days a year.
If you live in that other country called California, there’s a new metal bird in town that flies to a city almost as old as Athens. We’re talking about the Eternal City, Rome, and the airline that gets you there from both L.A. and San Francisco, in singular Italian style, is ITA Airways. So away we go…
At Greek Column we have a bizarre emotional connection to LAX, but this month we decided to give SFO a go for our journey from the California Republic to the Hellenic Republic. We flew Business Class, which we can now confirm is excellent and even raises the bar for similar service on certain American airlines who we shall not mention by name. Some highlights begin on the ground, with a genuine welcome at the check-in counter regardless of which class you have booked. Once aboard, you’ll notice special Italian touches like the flight attendants’ uniforms, which are all designed by Brunello Cucinelli. Seatside, business travelers will find in addition to the standard business class-style amenity kit a special Italian “extra” in the form of a travel-size spa amenity kit dreamed up by QC Terme Spas and Resorts.
What’s next? Well, call me old-fashioned, but I reached for an in-flight magazine that wasn’t there. I was a big fan of in-flight magazines long before the pandemic made them an endangered species. Alitalia, the predecessor of ITA, had a good one called Ulisse and I hope they bring it back. From a quick inspection of things at SFO airport newsstands are also going the way of the dodo bird, so questa è la vita…have a perfectly prepared Aperol spritz with some warmed almonds and and think of Italia.
Before you have a chance to take a nap in the lie-flat seats the meal service begins and here things really shine. My first course of orecchiette pasta with broccoli sauce, a regional specialty from Puglia, was light and delicious.
The wine list revels in Italian grapes. No great vino aficionado am I, however, at an enthusiastic flight attendant’s suggestion I sampled a glass of Cutizzi Greco di Tufo Feudi di San Gregoria, a refreshing white and perfect accompaniment to the Sanremese-style tuna steak that followed. On flights from Italy, by the way, business class passengers can enjoy a menu formulated by a noted Italian chef, Gian Piero Vivalda.
Flights from the West Coast to Italy clock in at around 12 hours, so take your time to savor your meal. Upon arrival at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport “Leonardo da Vinci”, collect your luggage if you checked bags and clear customs with an electronic swipe of your passport, if it’s American.
Here’s the best part: Fiumicino is not Heathrow, so if you planned correctly you will find it infinitely easier and probably faster to get your connecting flight to Athens than you would from monstrously huge and overcrowded London. Rome Fiumicino essentially has two main terminals, but unlike at Heathrow, they are basically adjacent to one another. Transfers are easy, and this is one of the big, big advantages of flying ITA Airways from the West Coast or any American airport for that matter instead of an airline that plops you down in the chaos of London airports. Let me be clear: Do this!
My ITA Airways flight from SFO to Rome FCO departed San Francisco at 3:05 PM, arriving in Rome around 11:55AM the following day.
My ITA Airways flight from Rome FCO to Athens departed that same day at 3:30PM, arriving in Athens around 6:30PM Greek time (it’s about a two-hour flight, but don’t forget that Greece is one hour ahead of Italy).
Service aboard my short flight from Rome to Athens was exemplary and, memorably, the landing was literally as smooth as a swath of Venetian silk.
Ah, you know? That’s what traveling on ITA Airways did — in addition to transporting me to Athens, it got me dreaming about Italy. Which, I’m sure we can all agree, is not a bad thing at all.
From the airline:
There are 43 weekly roundtrip flights from North America to Italy operated by ITA Airways in the peak of the current winter season, which are not only means for leisure and business travel but also “bridges” connecting the broader Italian community in the United States.
The Italian flagship carrier offers nonstop flights to 6 destinations in North America, namely New York, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco.
In the current winter season ITA Airways is flying to 52 destinations, including 17 domestic, 23 international, and 12 intercontinental. In terms of new winter openings, the Company has recently inaugurated the direct flight Roma Fiumicino - Malè in the Maldives which will be enriching the intercontinental network already including nonstop flights to New York, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and New Delhi.
Further attention to the American market is testified by the expansion of the Company’s intercontinental network in the summer of 2024. In April, ITA Airways will launch the nonstop flight to Chicago and in May it will offer a new nonstop flight to Toronto in Canada. New nonstop flights will also be launched to destinations in the Middle East and Africa, including Riyadh, Kuwait, Jeddah, Dakar and Accra.